MANILA – Telecommunications firm Sear Telecom and its partner Tier1 filed a motion for reconsideration contesting the disqualification of their consortium from the race for the country’s third telco.
The development came two days after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) chose Mislatel, a consortium of Davao-based tycoon Dennis Uy and China Telecom, as the third provisional telco player.
Former Ilocos Sur governor Luis “Chavit” Singson, who is behind the consortium, questioned Mislatel’s eligibility and said it violated regulations when it used a franchise that already had an “exclusive” binding agreement with Tier1.
The NTC selection committee disqualified Sear Telecom for its failure to pay a P700-million security fee.
Singson told reporters at the NTC New Major Player Secretariat that the consortium has the fee ready for submission.
In another motion, Singson formally questioned the validity of Mislatel’s franchise citing an existing contract with a member of the Sear Telecom consortium.
He sought the help of the NTC to validate Mislatel’s franchise before submitting its P700 participation fee.
Another disqualified firm PT&T also filed a motion for reconsideration at the NTC on Friday.
Mislatel’s selection had drawn questions over Uy’s reported closeness to President Rodrigo Duterte, as the businessman and his wife had donated P31 million to his 2016 presidential campaign.
But Malacañang downplayed this and said personal ties do not matter with the President. (With ABS-CBN News/PN)
